


Tangled?

by defenderofjustice707



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Injecting Eren's blood, Loads of cursing, M/M, Prince!Eren, Tangled AU, Theif!Levi, ereri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-04 03:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defenderofjustice707/pseuds/defenderofjustice707
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tangled-based AU in which Grisha uses Eren's blood to stay young until a man comes across Eren's tower and makes a promise to take Eren away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own SnK or Tangled, ok?

This is the story of how-

No. You know what? No. This is fucking stupid. This is the story of Eren.

Once upon a time there was a man who found a flower. The flower contained regenerative abilities like you wouldn't imagine, and could even help you live longer. One day, the queen of the town got sick, and she was pregnant. The king would have done anything for her, and sent everyone in search of this flower. The man would not share the flower, however. He injected himself with it's juices and it restored his age. But the townspeople found the flower. It healed the queen and she had a baby boy. But the man wanted the juices, and the only way to get it was now to inject himself with Eren's blood. They searched, but never found him. They had a festival every year on his birthday in which they lit lanterns and threw them into the sky and for some reason they floated. That's all you need to know. That was fucking ridiculous, what a waste of time.

Eren sighed. He couldn't find Mikasa. So much for their game of hide-and-seek. Suddenly, he heard a noise and turned. Mikasa had fallen from a shelf.

"Mikasa!" he smiled. "You win again." Mikasa looked smug. Mikasa was Eren's chameleon. She was better than Eren at everything, even though she was an animal. Eren picked her up and busied himself with his chores, but his mind was distracted. Tomorrow was his birthday, and that meant the floating lights would be in the sky.

He rested his hand on his cheek, taking a break from sweeping up non-existent dust. Maybe, just maybe, Grisha would let him go.

 

 

Levi paused, taking in the view of the kingdom. It was breathtaking. He turned to his comrades, Hanji and Irwin.

"I need money." he said.

"So do we," said Irwin, "Just get the goddamn crown."

Levi scowled and allowed himself to be lowered into the castle. Sitting on a display was a crown. The crown was beautiful, encrusted with various jewels and lined with pure gold. It was also worth a lot. The prince wasn't around to wear it, so what was the harm in taking it?

Levi grabbed the crown just as one of the guards standing by the crown sneezed. "Fucking disgusting." he growled. The guard swiveled around. Irwin and Hanji were already hauling Levi up, cursing up a storm.

"Levi, you idiot!" said Hanji, half amused and half angry.

"Just run." shouted Irwin. And together, they ran.

 

 

"Eren!" yelled Grisha. "Throw down the ladder!"

"This is it." Eren said nervously. Mikasa nodded her encouragement and Eren threw the ladder out the window. Grisha tested it's sturdiness before climbing.

"Eren, I brought apples." said Grisha.

"Great." said Eren unenthusiastically. Just like every other time Grisha brought apples. Eren secretly despised them, but he could never build up the courage to tell him.

"Dad-" started Eren, but he was ignored as Grisha walked toward the mirror. Eren watched as Grisha looked at himself, studying the bags and wrinkles appearing on his face. When Grisha turned around, Eren started again.

"Dad-" but he was cut off again.

"Eren, I could use a little pick me up." said Grisha hopefully. Eren sighed.

"Yes, Dad." Eren reluctantly pulled out the syringe he always had handy. He sanitized it and plunged it into the underside of his elbow, only wincing slightly when it went under. He pulled on the end and extracted the blood, then rubbed his thumb over the wound to stop the bleeding. He handed the blood to Grisha and watched him inject it, his features immediately turning younger.

"Now, Dad, you know what tomorrow is?" asked Eren hopefully.

"Monday?" asked Grisha, emptying his basket onto the counter.

"Close." said Eren. "It's my birthday."

Grisha sighed audibly. "Yes, yes. What do you want this year, then?"

"Well, you know, the lights-"

"Stars." Grisha warned in a menacing tone. Eren flinched.

"Stars. No, I don't think so." he said sheepishly. "I want to see them, Dad. In person."

Grisha slammed his hands onto the counter, turning toward Eren at an alarming speed. "Eren." he said, his voice loud and deep. "What have I told you? You will never leave this tower."

Eren hesitated. "But... Why?"

"In the outside world, everybody is selfish. More selfish than me. They will take your blood and sell it. You will become nothing but a blood bank. Do you want that to happen?" Grisha said, calming down.

Eren's hesitation was enough to make Grisha continue. In fact, Grisha started singing and walking around the house like he was in a movie or something. Eren watched with one eyebrow raised until Grisha finished. He had described the horrors of the outside, the syringes and the blood tests and greedy men and manipulative women, among other things. By the end, Eren was thoroughly frightened.

"Now, do you want to leave?" 

 _Yes_. "No." said Eren. He lowered his head.

"Good." Grisha smiled. "I'm going out."

Grisha threw the ladder out the window and climbed it, calling to Eren that he would be back in a hour.

"Fuck you." Eren whispered as he left.

 

 

 

The soldiers were still in pursuit of Levi, Hanji, and Irwin. Hanji was cackling maniacally. They passed a tree with wanted posters of them while they ran. Levi scoffed when he saw his. His nose was huge in that picture.They heard the sound of hooves thudding behind them. Suddenly, they came across a ledge of dirt.

"What now?" Irwin huffed. Levi thought for a second before answering.

"Hanji, stand on Irwin's shoulders. Since I'm the smallest, I'll climb you two and hoist you up when I get to the top." Levi said.

"And the crown?" asked Hanji, putting a hand on her hip.

"What about it?" asked Levi.

"Give it to me. I don't trust you." she said in a demanding tone. Levi handed the bag over with a scowl, a plan already forming in his head.

When he reached the top of the ledge, Hanji reached up."Now help us up, jackass."

Levi smirked. "Hope you have fun in prison with Captain Eyebrows." he said, holding up the bag with the crown in it. Surprise and anger flashed over their faces and Levi turned, running.

Somehow, one of the soldiers still caught up with him. He dodged their horse and the rider fell off, having gotten hit with a tree branch. Levi hopped on to the still-running horse and kicked it's sides, urging it forward. The horse looked back and stopped cold.

"The fuck?" growled Levi. "Move, you stupid horse!"

The horse spotted the bag and bit for it. Levi pulled his hand back, startled. The horse went for it again, and again Levi pulled it back. Then, the horse managed to grab it, but the bag flew out of it's mouth and onto a branch. Hanging. Over. A. Cliff.

"Are you shitting me?" Levi groaned, jumping off the horse and running for the branch, the horse following close behind. He walked on the branch carefully, but the horse was messing him up. He lost his footing and slipped, but managed to cling to the branch before falling down the cliff. He started shuffling awkwardly toward the bag, and it didn't help when the horse started stomping. He reached out as far as he could and grabbed the bag.

Then, he heard a cracking. Both he and the horse looked back just as the branch broke. Levi held on to his end of the branch for dear life, refusing to scream. The branch broke on a rock, separating the two before it landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Levi groaned and sat up. He rubbed his head. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken. He heard neighing and stood up, flinging the bag over his shoulder and running. After he had run for a time, he stopped, breathing heavily. He could still hear the sound of hooves pursuing him. He leaned against a vine-covered wall, only to fall through and land on his back. He stayed still. The horse sniffed around outside the vines and paused in front of them. Levi held his breath. The horse looked up and... left.

Levi let out the breath he had been holding and stood up. He wanted to be anywhere but where that horse was, so he headed in the other direction. The first thing he saw was-

"What a hugeass tower." he said. "Who even needs a tower that tall?"

As he walked toward it, he realized how high it actually was. With a sigh, he started climbing, muttering obscenities the whole way.

"Fucking hundred feet tower, god damn, my arms hurt..." and so on.

Finally, he made it to the top. The room was small, barely large enough for two. Who even lived there?

Levi felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. The next thing he knew, everything was black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is completely unedited and short, but just wait!

 Eren scooted away. He pointed his frying pan at the strange man he had just knocked out. His hair covered his face so that Eren could only see his mouth. It was strangely inviting... 

No! Eren shook his head. Now was not the time for that. He turned to Mikasa. She pointed to the pocket that Eren always held his syringe in. Eren nodded and proceeded to search the man's pockets for needles. When he didn't find any, he stepped back. But Grisha had said... 

Eren used the end of his frying pan to flip the man's hair over and gasped. He was beautiful. 

Eren decided that he had to hide the body, and fast. He looked around wildly until his eyes landed on his closet. He pulled on the man's hands and dragged him toward the closet, pausing when he got there. Now what? Eren put his hands under the man's armpits and tried to pull him up into the closet. Now the man was sitting in it. Eren did the same thing and got the man to stand for a few seconds before he slumped and fell on top of Eren.

_Oh god oh god oh_ \- thought Eren wildly as he tried to get the man off him, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. Once he had, he studied his closet again. This time, he lifted the man by his middle and shoved him in, closing the door before he could fall out and leaning against it. It was hard. Even though the man was undoubtedly smaller than him, he still weighed so much. What the hell? 

"Mikasa!" Eren called. "Go get a broom or a chair or something!"

Mikasa nodded and ran, coming back with a broom. Eren pulled away and quickly shoved the broom through the handles, only to have it snap and the strange man's body came tumbling out again. He crushed both Eren and Mikasa.

Once they had gotten out of that, Eren did the same thing he did last time, but with a chair. It held up pretty well.

"Jesus Christ." said Eren wiping his forehead. "If I can live through a man falling on me twice, I think I can survive outside. Right, Mikasa?" 

Mikasa nodded.

Eren looked over to where he had hit the man. There was a bag there that he hadn't noticed before. He picked it up and shook it's contents out. Inside was a strange circle with jewels on it. Eren picked it up.

"What is it?" asked Eren, showing it to Mikasa. Mikasa shrugged and Eren spun it on the ground. 

"It's not a toy." Eren concluded. He picked it up again, this time putting it on his head. He froze, his eyes widening. He sure did look handsome.

"Eren!" Grisha called. Eren fumbled with the olden thing for a few minutes before putting it inside a pot. "Coming!" Eren yelled. He threw the ladder down.

"I brought more apples!" Grisha said when he got up, sounding proud of himself. 

"Wonderful." Eren said in monotone. Grisha grinned. 

"I brought these so you would forgive me." said Grisha, still smiling. "You know, for this morning. Even though I did nothing wrong, I'm apologizing. Aren't I wonderful?" 

"You sure are." said Eren. "Now, Dad, you know, you think I can't handle myself-"

"You can't." said Grisha, giving Eren a menacing glare. Eren stopped and looked down, deciding not to push further. But later, he was going to manipulate the hell out of that man in his closet. 

"I know what I want for my birthday." said Eren. 

"It better not be expensive." said Grisha.

"I want Italian food." said Eren. 

"Eren, do you know how long it will take me to get the ingredients for Italian food?" asked Grisha tiredly. 

"Yes." said Eren, "But it's my birthday." 

Grisha sighed. "Fine. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." 

"No promises." whispered Eren after Grisha left. And with that, he set to work.

  


Levi woke up in a haze. Where was he? Why did his face hurt so much? His questions were answered when he woke up. A weird lizard thing was slapping him relentlessly.

"Stop!" he shouted. It stopped and stared at him, then nodded into the darkness and crawled away.

Levi looked down. His hands were bound to a chair and for some reason he was sitting in the only bright spot in the room. He struggled against the bonds, but they were tied tight. He squinted into the darkness. He heard footsteps coming toward him. 

_Jesus fuck I hope it's not some huge man_ , thought Levi nervously as the person stepped into the light. He was pleasantly surprised. A cute boy was standing there, his brown hair rumpled. He had impossibly large green eyes.

"What are you doing here?" asked the boy.

"Hiding." replied Levi.

"From what?" asked the boy. 

"Nothing." said Levi. "Why did you tie me to this chair?" 

"Oh, I dunno, some random guy climbs into my house, what am I supposed to do, get you a cup of tea?" he said sarcastically. 

"A cup of tea would be wonderful." said Levi. "What's your name?"

The boy looked taken aback. "Eren." 

"Eren." said Levi, smiling. "I'm Levi." Levi froze suddenly, searching his body.

"Eren, where's my bag?" he asked slowly. 

"I hid it." said Eren. Levi looked around. He could easily spot where Eren had hidden it. Eren followed his gaze and panicked, swinging the pan at him. Levi's eyes widened before everything went black, again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments! Again, I'm also posting this at temporary-name.tumblr.com!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos! I read them all and they make my day!
> 
> I had a research paper and that's finally done, so I should be able to update more often.

When Levi woke up, the lizard thing was slapping him again.

"Quit it, goddamn it!" he yelled. The lizard cast him a smug glance before jumping off his shoulder.

"You won't find that bag now." said Eren, sounding almost as smug as the lizard had looked. Levi scanned the room again. This time, he didn't find anything that could fit a bag in it. Eren had even hidden the pot he originally hid it in. That kid was thorough.

"So, what do you want?" asked Levi, raising an eyebrow like the sassy man he was.

"I want you to take me to see the floating things in the air tomorrow." said Eren. He hadn't expected to make it this far. The scenario in his head had been that Levi would pull out a weapon, cut himself free, bleed Eren dry, and run away with a gallon of Eren's blood in his hands.

"The lanterns?" asked Levi. "For the prince? Why don't you just go yourself?"

"I..." Eren thought for a minute, looking anywhere but Levi. "I don't know the way?" he said it as a question, as if he wasn't sure himself. And he wasn't. Levi wasn't supposed to ask questions, but Eren guessed he couldn't expect Levi to just mindlessly obey either.

"You don't know the way." said Levi, deadpan. "You don't know the way to the castle."

"No." Eren said defensively. "I've never been."

"I can't take you." said Levi. "As you can see, I seem to have been tied to a chair."

"I can untie you," said Eren. "If you promise to take me."

Levi thought for a second. He wasn't in good standing with the royal guard. But maybe if he could hide his face...

"Fine." Levi turned his head. "Whatever. Just untie me, shitty brat." 

"Yes sir!" Eren smiled, his face lighting up. Levi's heart did a little flip. He looked... cute. Eren untied Levi. Levi rubbed his wrists as the lizard thing glared at him suspiciously.

"Are you taking that thing?" asked Levi, gesturing to the lizard. 

"Mikasa." said Eren. At the sound of her name, the lizard came running to Eren's side. "Yes, I'm taking her."

Levi grimaced. "It's filthy." 

" _She's_ clean. Right, Mikasa?" asked Eren smiling and scratching Mikasa's head. She smiled (if that was possible) and leaned into his touch, nodding.

_What have I gotten myself into_ , thought Levi as he walked toward the window. Eren was still standing in the middle of the room, scratching the disgusting creature lovingly.

"You coming?" he called.

"That's what she said." said Eren. Levi scowled and threw one leg out the window, then the other, and started climbing down. Eren sure was taking his sweet time. When Levi reached the ground, Eren threw a ladder out the window. Levi raised an eyebrow as Eren climbed down. Eren climbed carefully, making sure Mikasa didn't fall off his shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a ladder?" asked Levi.

"You didn't ask." said Eren. He looked around. The kid looked so happy that he might burst into song. Levi started walking in the other direction, but Eren ran. Levi sighed as he was left behind.

Eren, meanwhile, was feeling exhilarated. The grass between his toes, the cool air on his face, the trees, the animals... Eren almost started singing. He would have if it weren't for the man behind him. When Levi started walking, Eren stood where he was for a moment before following. It was just so beautiful and new. He couldn't believe the outside world was this colorful.

Eren wasn't feeling any regrets, even when he could no longer tell which way was back. Levi was walking with a sense of purpose, and Eren felt safe following him. That safe feeling soon turned into a feeling of unease as the woods grew thick and Levi looked less sure. He still didn't regret leaving his asswipe of a father, but...

"Are you sire this is the right way?" asked Eren uneasily.

"To be honest, I'm not." said Levi, sounding genuinely unsure. Eren had a moment of panic before Levi couldn't hold back his laugh anymore.

"I'm kidding." said Levi, giggling a bit. Eren's face turned red and he looked away, pouting like a child. Levi was amused. More amused than he had been in a while, actually. He looked back at Eren, still feeling a bit of anger at the brunette. He really didn't want to do this, but at least he could enjoy himself. Levi spotted a familiar looking building and stopped cold, an idea forming in his head.

"Hey, Eren, you hungry?" asked Levi. 

"Not really." said Eren. Maybe the kid was trying to piss him off.

"Too bad, because I am. Let's hit up that place over there." said Levi, pointing. Eren turned.

"The Snuggly Titan?" asked Eren.

"Let's go!" said Levi, dragging Eren into the Snuggly Titan. God, he hoped this would work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll have something different happen in the Snuggly Titan than what happened in the Snuggly Duckling.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at temporary-name.tumblr.com
> 
> Also, if you make a post about this, let me know! I'm thinking about starting up a tag, but I don't know what it would be.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't get around to updating until just now. Turns out, my research paper had a whole lot of mistakes. But now it's break, so maybe this time I won't be lying when I say the updates will be more frequent.
> 
> Super duper thank you for all of the kudos!

Levi threw open the doors, eager to scare Eren enough that he would want to back to of their deal. Inside, he saw a few people he recognized. The faced of Mike and Petra turned toward them, as well as a few others.

"What are you doing here, Levi?" asked Mike, a smile creeping onto his face. When Mike smiled, he looked like a savage animal who had just found his next prey. When his gaze landed on Eren, his look was just that - predatory.

"Who's that?" asked Petra. She was sitting with a girl Levi didn't know. The girl had brown hair that was tied into a ponytail and a huge plate of food in front of her, scarfing down the food like she hadn't eaten in weeks.

"He's Eren." said Levi, patting Eren on the back with enough force to make him stumble forward. 

"Hi," he said timidly, stepping back to stand behind Levi again.

"Isn't that cute?" said Petra, her smile sickeningly sweet. "Isn't he cute, Sasha?"

"Yeah," said Sasha through a mouthful of food, looking up for a second to glance at Eren before returning to her steak. Eren blushed faintly, and Levi wanted to throw up. This was not what he wanted. He wanted to scare Eren, not for Petra to complement him.

"I asked what you were doing." said Mike, looking dangerous.

"Visiting." said Levi, sitting down next to him. Mike eyed Levi suspiciously and sniffed the air. Eren stood where he was awkwardly.

"You can sit with us." said a boy with freckles, who didn't look as scary as the rest of them. "If you want, that is. I'm Marco."

Eren decided that it was a wise decision to sit with them, so he sat down. Marco beamed.

"This is Connie and this is Armin." said Marco warmly, gesturing to the two boys sitting with him. They didn't look half as dangerous as the rest of the people there. Eren could see Levi out of the corner of his eye, scowling at him.

"What are you doing here?" asked the boy named Armin.

"And why are you with him?" asked Connie, gesturing to Levi with his chicken leg. Levi was now talking to Mike, looking upset.

"He's taking me to see the lanterns for the prince." said Eren. "He wanted to stop for some food."

Connie laughed. "I doubt he wanted food."

"What do you mean?" asked Eren.

"I think," started Armin, "That he probably wanted to scare you." Eren's eyes widened with disbelief, then understanding worked it's way through his features.

"It's not going to work." Eren said stubbornly. "You aren't scary."

"But what about Mike and Petra?" asked Marco. "Oh, and just wait until you meet Annie."

"Hm?" said someone behind him. Eren looked up. Standing there was a girl with blonde hair that was tied back and what you might call a strong nose.

"Annie!" Connie smiled. "Marco was just talking about you!"

Annie raised an eyebrow. "What did he say?" she looked menacing, but that was probably just her neutral facial expression.

"Nothing!" said Marco in a pleading voice. Eren laughed. These people weren't that bad. They were fun, actually.

Meanwhile, Levi was watching them interact angrily. Mike was watching Levi watch them in amusement. Levi looked very upset and smelled like jealously.

"He really is cute." said Mike, grinning. "Petra was right."

Levi scowled at him and took a bite of the beef he had been brought. "Whatever."

"You've noticed it!" Mike smiled. "You think he's cute!"

"No, I don't." said Levi, turning his head and taking a swig of his drink. He did think Eren was cute, but he would never tell Mike that. He glanced at Eren again. Now, there was a girl standing there. She met Levi's eyes and scowled at him.

Suddenly, the door burst open. There were guards standing there. Levi cursed and got up, grabbing Eren and hiding behind a table.

"How the ever-loving fuck-" hissed Levi, clamping a hand over Eren's mouth so he wouldn't ask questions. Maybe they weren't there for him.

"We're here for Levi." said the man. "We received a tip from an anonymous source that he was here."

"Well," said one of his comrades, "Anonymous to you." Then, Hanji and Irwin stepped in. Levi sighed. This was just not his day.

They started searching, checking every face in the room and under all of the tables. Levi cursed again and dragged Eren back just as a guard checked under that table. Levi felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. That one kid with the freckles - Marco - was gesturing to a hidden door in the floor. Levi didn't question him and walked right in, dragging Eren behind him.

"Thanks, Marco." said Eren before they left, smiling warmly. Levi felt a pang of jealousy and forced it down.

"You're welcome." Marco smiled. He closed the door quickly, leaving Levi and Eren in total darkness.

"He's not under the table, sir!" reported one of the officers to the captain.

"Damn," said the captain, rubbing his chin. Then, the door burst open, revealing a disheveled looking horse.

"Jean!" he exclaimed, grinning. Jean started sniffing around until he smelled Levi, and pushed open the door with his hoof.

"Great job, Jean!" he grinned again. "Let's go!" And with that, they left.

Irwin and Hanji glanced at each other, then at the guard standing by them. He immediately became defensive, raising his spear at them. Irwin kicked him in the gut and caught it with his foot, handing it to Hanji. She freed them, and they started on their way to follow Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't get around to updating until just now. Turns out, my research paper had a whole lot of mistakes. But now it's break, so maybe this time I won't be lying when I say the updates will be more frequent.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at temporary-name.tumblr.com!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos!

When Grisha left, he was in a relatively good mood. He had talked Eren out of trying to leave using his amazing wit, and had even stocked up on apples. Mm, apples.

His good mood was ruined when he saw the horse. A palace horse, to be exact. At first, he didn't think anything of it.

"Just a horse," he had muttered. "A... palace horse. Without a rider." And the realization hit him that the rider could be anywhere. _Anywhere._

"Eren!" he yelled, running back to the fake vine wall. "Eren! _Eren_!"

What if the rider had gotten to Eren? What if they had gotten to Eren? Asked him questions? Figured out about his blood? Taken him back to the castle? He ran to the tower as fast as he could.

When he got there, he yelled, "Eren! Throw down the ladder, you little shit!"

But Eren wasn't there. Either that, or he was sleeping. Grisha panicked and tore apart the rock wall, desperate to get inside. He climbed the long staircase he had in case of emergencies. Once he reached the top, he threw off the piece of tile he kept there and scrambled out of the hole. He searched the small room frantically, searching under blankets and pillows, behind curtains, and even in the cupboards. Eren was nowhere to be found. He wasn't even in his room.

"Fuck!" he screamed. Eren was gone. He turned his head slightly when he saw a glinting. It was in the staircase.

Grisha tore off the wood and gasped, scooting away. It was the crown. As soon as he pulled himself together, he took the crown (and the bag that was beside it) and took off in search of his "son."

When he finally caught up with him, they were inside a tavern called "The Snuggly Titan." He raised an eyebrow and peeked inside. The people inside weren't doing anything interesting. They were sitting there and eating. Except Eren was in there, sitting with a group of people who didn't look like they belonged there.

Then, guards came in, and Grisha saw the man he assumed had taken Eren grab him and lead him away, looking concerned. He saw a freckled young man let them out through a tunnel before a horse came barreling in and went inside the tunnel, with a rider. Soon after, an old man came out, presumably drunk.

"What in the-" he started, pointing at Grisha, but Grisha pulled out his knife, cutting him off.

"Tell me where the tunnel leads out or I will slit your throat." he said menacingly.

* * *

 

 

"That was exciting." said Eren, giddy.

"That's not what I would consider exciting, brat." said Levi, kicking a pebble.

There was an awkward silence. Eren hated silence. He had to deal with silence too much. It was always quiet back in the tower, other than the sound of Mikasa's feet padding along the ground and the sound of his own voice.

"Uh, where are you from?" asked Eren, trying to fill the silence.

"No." said Levi. "But what about you?"

"What _about_ me?" asked Eren. "I think I remember something about your father, but why haven't you left to see the lanterns before? And don't give me that 'I don't know the way' bullshit." Levi was still staring straight ahead, not looking back to see Eren's reaction.

"Uh," started Eren, but a rock fell on his head.

"Levi?" asked Eren, a bit of fear creeping into his voice.

This time Levi turned around. Eren caught what he thought was concern on Levi's face before his eyes widened.

"Eren, run!" Levi yelled, grabbing Eren's arm and running. Eren turned his head just enough to see what was behind him. Palace guards.

"Why are we running?" asked Eren, panting.

"I'm kind of a wanted criminal," admitted Levi.

"What the hell did you do?" asked Eren incredulously.

"I stole that crown you hid. Run faster!" Levi shouted. Eren stared at the back of Levi's head. So he was a thief?

They came into a clearing, a cliff-type place (you know the one). Levi looked around, obviously desperate for a place to hide or escape. The guards burst into the clearing, snarling at Levi. One of the horses looked more fierce than the others, if that was possible. Eren made sure Mikasa was secure on his shoulder.

Then, two people ran into the clearing, but below them. "Who are they?" asked Eren, pointing.

"Fuck," said Levi as a way of answer. "We're fucked."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr at temporary-name.com!
> 
> It's a short chapter and I'm a piece of shit but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about Mikasa. Also, if you're in the winter storm, stay safe friends.
> 
> Don't forget to leave a kudos! For those of you who prefer to read on tumblr, I'm posting it on temporary-name.tumblr.com.


End file.
